terje's travel reports

Prague (Praha) in 48 hours

We went to Prague to celebrate out 10 years of marriage. This city was certainly romantic enough for the occasion! It was a pity that we could not have more time off work. We need to come back!

Famous clock at Old Town Square

Prague has been a celebrated destination for the last decade. I didnt realize its beauty until watching Amadeus by Milos Forman. This is the capital of the Czech republic, worlds best country for icehockey. I also knew that pilsener beer originated from this country. With this starting point i began planning in august for a trip in november. Our main problem was the time available, only 48 hours. This is the story of how we managed to see the city in this short time. We arrived on a tuesday, just in time for an early dinner at the hotel. We stayed at Tophotel Praha, which is supposed to be one of the biggest hotels in Europe. You can stay inside the hotel for a week, and still feel amused. We used the afternoon to stroll around town, starting in Wencelskas Square and walking down to Charles Bridge via Old Town Square. On the way we stopped for a taste of Czech wine and pilsner.

Favourite spots:

View from Prague Castle

Next morning, we explored the Metro system, and went back to Old Town Square, and continued to Prague Castle, where we tried to count the gemstones in St. Wencheslas Chapel. A quick lunch at Lesser Town Square, before walking back over Charles Bridge and returning to Chodov Center (10 minutes walking from Tophotel) for christmas shopping (Skates for my son). The evening was brilliant, as we enjoyed the opera Aida in the National Theater. Thursday morning we continued with christmas shopping, also in the stores in Nove Mesto.

What's really great:

Narodni Divadlo

We certainly enjoyed the atmosphere in Prague, but we would like some more time to explore the smaller streets with jazzclubs and traditional cuisine. We ate knadigy only once, but certainly worth trying again. Personally I would have enjoyed a game of icehockey. Our conclusion is that we need to come back here some day, maybe when we celebrate 20 years of marriage...

Accommodations:

Tophotel Praha

Tophotel Praha is a little far outside town, but is a safe and elegant place to stay. More info and booking on www.tophotel.cz.

Other recommendations:

Certovka view from Charles Bridge

Walking along the tiny Certovka, a small passage of water from the Moldau, was a quality walk. I also enjoyed looking for traces after the great composers, Bedrich Smetana and Antonion Dvorak.